2016 College Football: What Should Bettors Know For Week 8?

2016 College Football: What Should Bettors Know For Week 8?

In this weekly column, we will summarize key events from the past week, provide bettors with information needed to make smarter college football bets, and help readers determine which teams are offering value.

Quick Hits

Our Week 8 opening line report is a useful resource to see how lines have shifted throughout the week. (Week 8 Opening Line Report)

Indiana at Northwestern, 12:00 PM Eastern: The past three games have been far from a cakewalk for the Indiana Hoosiers (3-3). Amidst the toughest part of their schedule, the Hoosiers faced three consecutive ranked conference opponents and almost squeezed out an upset last week over #8 Nebraska.

Kevin Wilson must feel grateful that his team is .500 after this difficult span. However, Indiana cannot become complacent because their Week 8 opponent, Northwestern (3-3), is no slouch. At the market-setting sportsbook Pinnacle, the Wildcats opened as 3-point favorites and are receiving 58% of spread bets at the time of publication.

In this mix of sharp and square books, observers will notice an obvious, yet important trend. The sharper books (5Dimes and BetDSI) are receiving more tickets on Indiana, while the square books (Sportsbook.com and Sports Interaction) are getting more tickets on Northwestern. Our money percentages also indicate that 59% of spread dollars are on the Hoosiers, but that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.

The graph below illustrates Indiana’s line movement and shifts in public betting trends throughout the week.

Despite opening as underdogs, the Hoosiers have received an overwhelming amount of spread money. This one-sided betting initially dropped the line from +3 to +2.5. Shortly after that initial drop, a steam move triggered at Pinnacle sent the line down to IND +1.5. Since that time, heavy public action on Northwestern has driven the line back up to IND +2.

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